Six months for good behaviour after assault on partner

A Court Reporter

A woman who assaulted her partner and pulled a telephone cable from the wall as he tried to contact police has been given six months to be of good behaviour.

Lorraine Miller (32) appeared from custody on Thursday at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court and was also instructed to complete counselling and a course in domestic issues, before she returned to court next year.

She had admitted assaulting the man by seizing him by the body and pushing him, causing him to fall backwards against a wall to his injury at a house in Letham Avenue, Leven.

The court heard the incident happened after Miller began questioning the man about a previous relationship. Witnesses in the house had also noticed bleeding scratch marks on his neck.

Miller also admitted behaving in a threatening and or abusive manner, likely to cause fear and alarm, by repeatedly shouting, acting aggressively and pulling the phone cable from the wall during a call to the emergency services.

She also admitted breaching bail conditions by contacting the man the following day, June 19.

A defence agent said Miller had suffered from post-natal depression and received counselling from a Barnardo’s worker. She was due in September to start a course on domestic violence.

Sheriff Simon Collins QC deferred sentence until January 14 and revoked bail, saying he wanted to see documentary evidence that Miller had satisfactorily completed the counselling and the course.

He warned any failure to engage or repeat offending could result in a community sentence which was “more punitive in nature”.